Name plate



June 14, 1938. F. J. BROWN NAME PLATE Filed oct. 7. 1957 Patented June14, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE NAME PLATE Application October 7,

3 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to name or advertising platesfor various articles, machines and the like as for instance mechanicalrefrigerators and bar beer and ale taps, in connection with which it isdesired that the maker, type, commodity or other identification standout permanently in pleasing display, as well as name or insignia platesutilized in the form of lapel buttons, emblems and badges, and inconnection 1s with commercial specialties and advertising novelties, andit is therefore to be understood that in the following references toname plates this term is intended to be used in a broad sense asincluding names, insignia, trade-marks and other identifying,ornamenting or advertising matter.

The primary object of the present invention is the provision of a nameplate capable of formation in a simple, economical manner to present atthe same time a display appearance which will 2o not only be pleasing,but will be lasting and durable and will eliminate the necessity offrequent polishing to insure its maintenance in bright shining conditionand the performance of its original appearance.

It is common to provide metal name plates with etched or otherwiseformed lettering, presenting shining metal portions between and around,or on the lettering itself, but such name plates unless frequentlycleaned and polished, soon become anything but pleasing in appearanceand practically illegible.

It is also common to print on name places, but in this instance,although frequent polishing is not a necessity, the result is notpermanent and 35. slight abrasions, surface scratches and the like oftenobliterate the printed matter or at least destroy its pleasingappearance.

The present invention aims to combine pleasing appearance withpermanence and to thereby 4,0 overcome the disadvantages of both thetypes of name plates above set forth.

A further object of the invention is to provide a name plate of a typewhich seats around a bore of the article or machine with which it is as-45, sociated and is, for the purpose of holding the same in position',provided with a fastener which when pressed within the bore so as toengage the wall thereof, will effectively prevent accidentaldisplacement of the name plate, the name plate having a part thereofprovided with means for spotting the fastener so as to insure its trulycentral position in respect to the name plate.

With the above in mind further and more specific objects of the presentinvention, as well as the resulting advantages thereof, Will be best1937, Serial No. 167,851

(Cl. L--20) understood from the following description in detail thereof,reference being made to the accompanying drawing which illustrates thebest mode so far devised for carrying the invention into practical use,and which forms a part of this specification.

In the drawing,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the improved name plate.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional View taken diagrammaticallytherethrough substantially on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an exploded side View of the several parts of the name plateshown` in Figure l, certain of these parts being shown in section.

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken through the name platesubstantially on line 4 4 of Figure 1 and showing its practicaldisposition as in use.

Figure 5 is a sectional View of the plastic cov-- ering member in itsfinished form, and

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the several parts of the name plate inexploded relation.

Referring now to these gures and generally to the device embodying thepresent invention it will be noted from. Figure 3 that it includes abody member |40, a plastic covering II, a backplate l2, and a fastenerI3.

The body member I l) is preferably of metal of a character adapted totake a shining surface of a coating or plating to produce such shiningsurface as a forwardly presented reflective surface which it will beunderstood may be of Various colors either natural to the metal or thecoating thereof or produced in connection therewith. Preferably alsothis member I0 is in the form of a concavo-convex disk, the reiiectivesurface I4 of which is presented forwardly and the surrounding ilange I5of which is presented rear-- wardly.

The plastic covering member I I may be formed of various materials of acelluloid like nature, including regenerated cellulose and the like, solong as it is transparent, and is originally a disk of substantiallygreater diameter than the body member I0 so that when applied to theforwardly presented reflective surface of the latter in a sufcientlyplastic state, its edge portion may be flexed rearwardly. over theedgeflange I5 of member Ill to extend rearwardly substantially beyond thisflange. While in` such plastic state the edge portion of the transparentcovering II is drawn inwardly.

The backplate I2 is preferably a metal disk of a diameter slightly lessthan the internal diameter of the flange I5 of the body member I0 and ispreferably of concavo-'convex form to parallel the inner rear surface ofthe said body member so that when pressed within the flange I5 it willcarry with it against the rear surface of the body member I the inwardlyextended peripheral edge of the transparent covering II so that by thencrimping the vflange I inwardly as plainly seen in Figures 2 and 4 theedge of the transparent covering II will be tightly locked and thebackplate I2 overlapped and secured in position approximately flatWiseagainst the rear surface of the body member I0.

In the present instance the fastener I3. includes a pair of oppositelyextending endwise gripping engaging arms I6 for cooperation with theWall I'I of a bore such as shown in Figure 4 in an article or machineindicated generally at A so that the name plate may may be seated asshown in a counterbore I8. For this purpose it is important that thefastener I3 be centralized with respect to the rear of the name plateand, since the arms I6 are supported by their central side wings i9 inspaced relatio-n to the name plate, the invention proposes the provisionof recesses 2) in the angular feet or extremities of the Wings I9 forcooperation with spotting bosses 2| formed in the backplate I2 andpressed rearwardly from the latter. This spotting of the fastener I3will it is understood be utilized merely for the purpose of initiallypositioning and holding the fastener I3 while it is being soldered orotherwise permanently connected to the backplate l2.

Obviously the plastic transparentv covering II fully covering theforwardly pressed reflective surface I4, prevents the latter fromoxidizing or otherwise losing its original brilliance and color and inorder to complete mutual protection of the parts, the plastic coveringII is initially imprinted or otherwise provided with opaque coloringmatter 22 upon its inner or rear face which in the assembly of the partsis placed next to the reflective surface of the body member I0. Thiscoloring matter forming the coating 22, which is applied by printing orotherwise, is arranged to form a series of letters seen at 23 in Figure4 either with or without markings indicated at 24 known in the trade asassociated with the commodity or its makenand to also form a backgroundindicated generally at 25 surrounding both the lettering 23 and themarks 24 and arranged with respect to the letters andmarks to leavetransparent portions of the plastic covering I I forming borders 26around both the letters and the marks whereby the reflective surface I4of the body member I0 will be seen through these borders and thecolored, opaque letters and marks 23 and 24 thus caused to stand outapart from and with respect to the colored, opaque background 25. It isalso important that the background 25, while surrounding the letters 23and marks 24, cover an area substantially less than the full diameter ofthe name plate so that when centralized with respect to the latter inthe assembly of the parts as previously described, the colored opaquebackground 25 will be evenly bordered by the transparent edge portion ofthe plastic covering as indicated at 2'I in Figure l so that thereflective surface of the body member IIl will thus show as a borderdistinction with respect to the background 25 in the same manner as theborders 26 of the letters 23 and marks 24.

In the above manner the imprinted or other- Wise colored lettering,marks and background, applied to the inner or rear surface of the plas--tic covering, and permanently maintained and protected in use by reasonof the fact that this surface is fully protected when applied to thebody member I0 in the assembling of the parts,

are caused to stand out with respect to one another and with respect tothe name-plate as a whole by reason of the exposure of the reflectivesurface I4 to view between the letters and the background and betweenthe background and the peripheral edge of the name plate. 'I'hus by ajudicious combination of colors, a name plate of striking appearance andbeauty may be easily and economically formed in a manner to insurepermanence of that appearance without polishing or constant attention,the arrangement and cooperation of the parts providing for fullprotection of all of the displayed matter and insuring a verysubstantial permanence thereof.

What is claimed isz- 1. A name plate including a body member presentinga forward reflecting surface and having a rearwardly curved peripheralflange, a tough, transparent covering extending completely over saidsurface and rearwardly over said flange, having upon its inner face,adjacent said reflecting surface, opaque coloring matter forminglettering, and a background relatively arranged to denne transparentborders around the lettering and continuously around the background atthe flanged edge of .the body member, and means for clamping the edgeportion of said covering in connection with the flange of the bodymember.

2. A name plate including a body member presenting a forward reflectingsurface and having a rearwardly curved peripheral flange, a tough,transparent covering extending completely over said surface andrearwardly over said flange, having upon its inner face, adjacent saidreflecting surface, opaque coloring matter forming lettering, and abackground relatively arranged to define transparent borders around thelettering and continuously around the background at the flanged edge ofthe body member, and a baekplate at the rear of the body plate engagedand held by the said flange of the body memberV and cooperating withsaid` flange to securely clamp the edge portionrof the said covering.

3. A name plate including a body member, a plastic covering over thefront face of the body member and extending to the rear thereof, abackplat-e in engagement with the body member and cooperatingtherewith'to clamp said covering, and a fasteningmember carried by thebackplate, the said backplate having rearwardly outstanding bosses andthe-said fastening member having recesses cooperating with said bossesto insure centralization of the fastener with respect to the backplate.

FRANK J. BROWN.

